Dispenser for groups of nested articles

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for dispensing substantially uniform groups of substantially identical nestable articles from the lower end of a generally vertical stack of nested articles. Clamping means are provided for holding the residuum of a stack of articles in a gravity-feed magazine while the lowermost group of articles is lowered on a support member. Means are provided for synchronizing the operation of the clamping means with the movement of the support member so that the stack is progressively lowered as successive lowermost groups are dispensed from the lower end of said stack. Means are also provided for dislodging the lowermost group from the support member after the group has been lowered far enough to become unnested from the lower end of the residuum of the stack. Further means are provided for unnesting the articles comprising a dispensed group from each other so that they are randomly scattered onto suitable receiving means such as a plate, platter, or the like.

United States Patent 1191 Zoepf et al.

[ DISPENSER FOR GROUPS OF NESTED ARTICLES I [75] Inventors: AlfredWfzoepfjC incinnatif Charles. R. Hood, Springfield Township, HamiltonCounty, both of Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio [22] Filed: Dec. 23, 1971 211App]. No.: 211,266

[52] US. CL, 221/251, 221/293 [51] v Int. Cl 865g 59/06 [58] Field ofSearch 221/176, 251, 293,

[56 2 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,770,392 11/1956 Roberts221/293 972,649 10/1910 Rose 221/251 1,330,639 2/1920 Leumann .1:221/293 1 July 24, 1973 Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves AssistantExaminer-Thomas E. Rocovsky Attorney-Fredrick H. Braun et al.

[571' AiSfiXtTT A An apparatus for dispensing substantially uniformgroups of substantially identical nestable articles from the lower endof a generally vertical stack of nested articles. Clamping means areprovided for holding the residuum of a stack of articles in agravity-feed magazine while the lowermost group of articles is loweredon a support member. Means are provided for synchronizing the operationof the clamping means with the movement of the support member so thatthe stack is progressively lowered as successive lowermost groups aredispensed from the lowerend of said stack. Means are also provided fordislodging the lowermost group from the support member after the grouphas been lowered far enough to become unnested from the lower end of theresiduum of the stack. Further means are provided for unnesting thearticles comprising a dispensed group from each other so that they arerandomly scattered onto suitable receiving means such as a plate,platter, or the like.

9 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PAIEMIE 4112mm SHEEI 1 0F 3 Fig. 2

INVENTOR. Alfred W. Zoe Charles R.

pf Hood ATTORNEY PATENTEBJUW'W v 3. 747. 803

sum 2 {IF 3 INVENTOR. Alfred W. Zoepf BY Charles R. Hood ATTORNEYPmmznmm 3.147. 803

INVENTOR. Alfred W. Zoepf BY Charles R. Hood WWW ATTORNEY DISPENSER FORGROUPS OF NESTED ARTICLES FIELD OF THE INVENTION BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION Some bulk commodities are measured or divided into sellingunits at the point of delivery to a user as opposed serve foodstuffswithout having them touched by servers. Although it may be expedient toserve potato chips by the handful, such non-hygienic handling tends tocompromise the sanitary condition of food and, if seen by diners,concomitantly diminishes the appetites of diners.

Therefore, whenever the form of a food product lends itself to beinguniformly apportioned without being contacted by servers, it becomesdesirable to do so. The instant invention provides a suitable dispenserto achieve this end with respect to uniformly shaped, nested articlessuch as chip-type snack food articles.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,798 issued to Fredrick J. Baur and Harold KennethHawley, Mar. 3', 1970 discloses packaged chip-type snackfood articlessuch as'potatoe chips,.of uniform size and shape formed into a stackedarray within a rigid tubular containing having a pull-tab removable. endpanel. Such a packaged, uniformly shaped, nested-stack, chip-type snackfood is well suited for being transferred by a food handler directlyfrom its container into the magazine of a dispenser without touching theproduct. Such uniformly shaped and stacked chip-type items are alsoamenable to being apportioned by the height of a serving. That is,groups of uniform predetermined heights will contain substantiallyuniform quantities of chips. Therefore, the number of chips in suchgroups may be varied by adjusting the height of the group.

Chip-type snack foods are generally fragile and frangible whichnecessitates handling them qently. Although frangible single chips' maybe able to withstand being dropped or thrown a considerable distancewithout being fractured, grouping several together in a stack tends toaccentuate their susceptability to being fractured. Whereas, a frangiblechip may be dropped several inches onto a platform or support memberwithout being fractured on impact, dropping a stack of nested, frangiblechips an equal height would greatly increase the probability offracturing one or more chips disposed at the impacting end of the stack.The greater the stack height or mass the greater the problem associatedwith dropping. Therefore, dispensing apparatus as well as other handlingapparatus for frangible chips will desirably be addressed to lowering asopposed to dropping, moving as opposed to throwing, and so forth.

Those skilled in the vending art will be familiar with many types ofdispensers having the general character of the instant invention thathave been developed to overcome some of the problems to which it isaddressed. Some such prior art dispensers are illustrated in U.S. Pat.No. 3,108,715 Farnsworth issued Oct. 29, 1963; U.S. Pat. No. 2,291,187Johnson issued July 28, 1942; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,338,714 Garner issuedJan. 11, 1944. However, none'of these has solved all of the problemsassociated with vending in the manner of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The nature and substance of the invention willbe more readily appreciated after giving consideration to its major aimsand purposes. The principle objects of the invention are recited in theensuing paragraphs in order to provide a better appreciation of itsimportant aspects prior to describing the details of a preferredembodiment in later portions of this description.

The major object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus fordispensing substantially uniform groups of substantially identicalnestable articles from the lower end of a generally vertical stack ofnested articles.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus fordispensing substantially uniform groups of substantially identicalnestable articles so that they are randomly disposed on a suitablereceiving surface as opposed to being received with the articles of thegroup is nested relationship.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus fordispensing substantially uniform groups of substantially identicalnestable articles from the lower end of a generally vertical stack ofnested articles without dropping the articles.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of thehereinabove described apparatus wherein the average number of articlesper group is adjustable predeterminable. 7

These and other objects are achieved in the present invention byproviding an apparatus for dispensing substantially uniformgroups ofsubstantially identical nestable articles, which apparatus includes: agenerally vertically extending gravity-feed magazine; clamping meansdisposed adjacent the lower end of the magazine for holding the residuumof a stack of articles in the magazine while the lowermost group ofarticles comprising the stack'is lowered on a support member. Theapparatus further compriseszmeans for operating the support memberbetweenv an up position and a down position; means for synchronizing theoperation of the clamping means with the movement of the support memberso that the stack of articles is progressively lowered as successivelowermost groups of articles are dispensed from the lower end of thestack of articles in the magazine; and means for dislodging thelowermost group from the support member after the lowermost group hasbeen lowered far enough to become unnested from the lower end of theresiduum of the stack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION While the specification concludeswith claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming thesubject matter regarded as forming the present invention, it is believedthe invention will be better understood from the following descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a dispenser, thedispenser being a preferred embodiment of the instant invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the preferredembodiment dispenser of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 through 5 are fragmentary perspective views of the dispensingmechanism of the preferred embodiment dispenser of FIG. 1 showing theoperation of the dispensing mechanism during a dispensing sequence.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the inclined bottom panel of thedischarge chute taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation view taken along line 7-7 of FIG.6 showing the inclined bottom panel and the pivoted strut mountedsupport block with a group of nested articles thereon just before thesupport block is passed through a shaped notch in the inclined panel.The support block is shown by dash line after passing through the shapednotch, and the nested group of articles dislodged therefrom is shown bydash line to be sliding down the inclined panel.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the dispensing mechanism ofan alternate embodiment of the instant invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the camming portion of a clamp operatingcam of the alternate dispensing mechanism shown in FIG. 8 taken alongline 9-9 thereof. 7

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the support operating cam of the alternatedispensing mechanism shown in FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1,dispenser which is the preferred embodiment of the instant invention isshown to comprise base 21, magazine 22, dispensing mechanism 23 anddischarge chute 24. Briefly, operation of the dispensing mechanism 23causes successive uniform groups 25 (FIG. 7) of nestable articles 26 tobe dispensed from the bottom of the stack 27 of nested articles 26within magazine 22 onto suitable receiving means disposed below thelower end 28 of discharge chute 24.

Base 21 functions as a means of supporting magazine 22 so that articles26 stacked within magazine 22 can be dispensed from the lower end 29 ofmagazine 22 onto a plate or other suitable receiving means notintegrated into dispenser 20 per se nor shown in the views thereof.Although base 21 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to be suitably configured forstanding dispenser 20 on a shelf or counter, suitable alternate meansfor supporting dispenser 20 less base 21 are considered well within thecapabilities of those having ordinary skill in the art. For instance,such dispensing apparatus could be adapted for wall mounting byproviding suitable attachment means for that purpose in which event mostof the structure of base 21 could be eliminated.

Magazine 22, FIGS. 1 and 2, of the preferred embodiment dispenser 20, isa tubular member having a full-length vertically extending slot 30 inits front wall 31. Thus, a horizontal section through verticallyextending tubular magazine 22 would have a C-shape. Although magazine 22as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a rectangular cross section causing theC-shape to have square corners, other cross-sectional shapes could beused without compromising the instant invention. For example, the boreof magazine 22 could be the cross sectional shape of packages in whicharticles to be dispensed are packaged. For instance, a stack of nestedarticles packed within a circular cross section tubular container suchas disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,798 issued Mar. 3, 1970 to Baur etal. could be transferred directly into a circular cross section magazineby telescoping the tubular container down through the top end of themagazine. Of course, the container would have to have first been openedand then inverted while providing temporary support for the packagedarticles until they are juxtaposed the top end of the stack of articles26 in the magazine.

Dispensing mechanism 23 of the preferred embodiment of the instantinvention, best seen in FIGS. 3 through 5, comprises: operating means 35operable between a rest and a dispensing position; clamping means 36operable between a stack engaging position and a stack disengagingposition; support and lowering means 37 operable between an up and adown position; and group height adjustment means 38. Briefly, dispensingmechanism 23 is actuated through a dispensing cycle by reciprocating theoperating means 35 downwardly from its rest position to the dispensingposition then upwardly to its rest position. The first downward motionof operating means 35 causes clamping means 36 to move to its stackengaging position whereby it assumes the support of articles 26interposed therebetween and disposed thereabove, this portion of thestack of articles 26 being defined as the residuum 33. Then, the group25 (FIG. 7) of articles 26 disposed below clamping means 36 are loweredon support and lowering means 37 until they are dislodged therefromwhereupon the group 25 of articles 26 slides down discharge chute 24 tobe received therefrom. The dispensing cycle is completed by the openingof clamping means 36 after the support and lowering means 36 has beenreturned to its up position whereupon theresiduum 33 is released. Uponbeing released by clamping means 36,

' the residuum 33 falls the height of the dispensed group 25 of articles26 on the support and lowering means 37. The residuum 33 thereuponassumes the identity of a stack 27 of articles 26.

Operating means 35, FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a crank 42 secured to shaft43 which is rotatably mounted to the structure of dispenser 20 near thelower end 29 of magazine 22. Referring now to FIG. 3 wherein thestructure of dispenser 20 has been omitted for clarity, shaft 43 has aradially extending pin 44 secured to it which enables shaft 43 to bebiased clockwise by tension spring 45 acting on the distal end 46 of pin44. That is, shaft 43 is biased in a manner that urges the handle 47 ofcrank 42 upwardly to the rest positon. The radially extending pin 44 hasa secondary function in combination with the operation of support andlowering means 37 as will hereinafter be delineated.

Clamping means 36, FIGS. 3 through 5, comprises arms 50, pads 51, andclamp earns 52.

The arms 50, FIG. 3, of clamping means 36 of pre' ferred embodimentdispenser 20 are of spring material and have an L-shape. The upper end53 of each arm 50 is secured to the sides of magazine 22 or to othersuitable dispenser structure so that arms 50 are cantilevered from theirsecured upper ends 53. Because arms 50 are of spring material, theirlower ends 54 will be biased inwardly towards each other if they arefirst caused to be displaced outwardly with respect to each other. Thehorizontal leg 56 of each arm 50 is disposed and configured to be actedon by the camming portions 57 of clamp cams 52 upon reciprocation ofshaft 43. That is, the camming portion 57 of each clamp cam 52 isconfigured as by beveling to cam the lower ends 54 of arms 50 outwardlywith respect to each other when the camming portions 57 of clamp cams 52are interposed between horizontal legs 56 of arms 50.

Pads 51 of clamping means 36 are of resilient material in order toenablethe pads to simultaneously grip the edges of a plurality ofarticles interposed therebetween, FIG. 4.

A pad 51 is secured to the lower end 54 of each arm 50 so that surface58 of one is opposite surface 58 of the other. Arms 50 and pads 51 areconfigured so that when no articles 26 are interposed therebetween andclamping arms 50 are not sprung outwardly by clamp cams52, the opposedsurfaces 58 are spaced less than the width of stack 27 of articles 26 tobe dispensed. Therefore, the lower ends 54 of arms 50 must be displacedoutwardly in order to interpose a stack 27 (shown in FIGS. 3-5 inphantom for clarity) of articles 26 therebetween whereby opposedsurfaces 58 of pads 51 are biased inwardly to grip the edges of articles26 interposed therebetween with enough force to support such articles 26therebetween and the position of stack 27 of articles 26 disposedthereabove; that is, to support residuum 33.

Clamp cams 52, FIGS. 3-5, are secured to shaft 43 and indexed therewithto be reciprocated in spaced relation to the movement of crank 42 sothat when crank 42 is at the most clockwise position of its range oftravel, the rest position, the beveled camming portions 57- of the clampcams 52 are interposed between the horizontal legs 56 of arms 50 wherebythe lower ends 54 of arms 50 are spaced far enough apart, that is cammedoutwardly far enough, to space opposed surfaces 58 of pads 51 from theedges of articles 26 disposed therebetween. Thus, with crank 42 in itsmost arrangement substantially precludes axial movement of collar 60 onshaft 43 while permitting crank 42 to be moved downwardly from its restposition through a predetermined arc length determined by thecircumferential length of slot 68 before the movement of crank 42 causescollar 60 to be rotated. During the interval during which crank 42 ismoved downwardly (counter clockwise) rotating collar'60,clamp cams 52rotated to disengage their camming portions 57 from the horizontal legs56 of arms 50 whereby the inwardly biased arms 50 cause opposed surfaces58 of pads 51 to contact and engage the edges of articles 26 disposedtherebetween.

Up-stop bar 61, FIG. 3, isrigidly secured to collar 60 at one end sothat it extends downwardly with its distal end 62 in contact with groupcontrol cam 69 when the dispensing mechanism is at rest at depicted inFIG. 3. Thus clockwise rotation of collar 60, as positioned in FIG. 3,is limited by distal end 62 of up-stop bar 61 contacting a point on theradially outwardly facing surface of group control cam 69. This isdesignated the CW- MAX position of collar 60.

Support block 63 has a plan-view configuration, FIG. 6, that is smallerthan the plan-view size of articles 26 so that support block 63 willpass through a shaped notch 82 in panel 76 through which articles 26will not pass as is hereinafter amplified. Upwardly facing surface 66,FIG. 3, of support block 63 is configured to be congruent with asubstantial area of the downwardly facing surface of the lowermostarticles 26 in stack 27 so that the weight of stack 27 is distributedover a substantial area of the lowermost article 26 in the stack. Thisobviates points or areas of high stress in the lowermost article of astack 27 of such articles resting on support block 63 that would perhapsfracture or otherwise compromise the structural integrity of frangiblearticles.

Strut 64 having ends 71, 72 is pivotally mounted in dispenser 20 bybeing secured at a point intermediate its ends 71, 72 to collar 60.Strut 64 is configured to have support block 63 rigidly secure to end 71and one end of tension spring 65 secured to end 72. Further, strut 64 isconfigured and disposed so that support block 63 is movable between anup position and a down position, the up position being immediatelysubjacent the lower end of magazine 22 so that a generally verticallyextending stack 27 of articles 26 to be dispensed from within magazine22 will be supported thereon.

Tension spring 65 extending between end 72 of strut 64 and structure ofdispenser 20, not shown in FIGS. 3 through 5, biases collar 60 to itsCW-MAX position which positions support block 63 at its up position.When support block 63 is at its up position, the lowermost article 26disposed to be restrained by pads 51 is spaced the height of a group 25of articles 26 above surface 66 of support block 63. Thus, the lowermostgroup 25 of articles 26 in stack 27 is free to be lowered on the supportblock 63 while residuum 33 of stack 27 is supported by clamping means36.

The group height adjustment means 38, FIG. 3, comprises actuator 73,shaft 74, and group control cam 69 which, in combination, permitadjusting the up position of support block 63. Shaft 73 is rotatablymounted to the structure of dispenser 20 by means not shown but whichwill be familiar to those skilled in the art. Actuator 73 and groupcontrol cam 69 are secured to shaft 74 so that rotation of shaft 74 andgroup control cam 69 are concurrently effected by circularly displacingactuator 73. In this manner, the point on the perimeter 70 of groupcontrol cam 69 that will be contacted by the distal end 62 of up-stopbar 61 can be varied whereby the up position of support block 63 isadjusted. This adjusts the height of the space between pads 51 andsupport block 63 which essentially controls the number of uniformlythick articles 26 in a group 25 to be dispensed.

The discharge chute 24, FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a first inclined panel76, FIG. 1, and a second inclined panel 77, FIG. 2, obliquely orientedwith respect to each other. Contiguous with the edges of the inclinedpanels are generally vertically extending side members 78 through 81.Thus, a group of articles 26 disengaged from support block 63, FIG. 7,slides down the first inclined panel 76 whereupon the group is caused tonegotiate a descending, sharp corner in order to proceed down the secondinclined panel 77. Negotiating the corner generally causes individualarticles 26 comprising group 25 to become unnested with respect to eachother so that they will be scattered onto a plate or the like positionedadjacent the lower end 28 of discharge chute 24 rather than beingreceived in a nested condition. Thus, articles 26 are scattered uponbeing dispensed so that they have a conventional appearance on a plateor platter or the like as opposed to being a nested group of articles.

The operation of the dispenser will be best understood by referring toFIGS. 3 through 5. At rest, crank 42 is biased upwardly, clockwise, bytension spring 45. Thus positioned, clamp cams 52 hold the opposedsurfaces 58 of pads 51 away from the edges of articles 26 comprisingstack 27 within dispenser 20. Also at rest, tension spring 65 biasesstrut 64 so that support block 63 is at its up position whereby it issupporting the stack 27 of articles 26 within dispenser 20. Referringnow to FIG. 4, crank 42 has been displaced an exaggerated amount forclarity downwardly, counter clockwise, whereby the camming portions 57of clamp cams 52 have moved downwardly from the lower ends 54 of arms50. Thus, the inwardly biased lower ends 54 of arms 50 urge the opposedsurfaces 58 of pads 51 to engage the edges of articles 26 disposedtherebetween. At this time, stack 27 is essentially divided into twojuxtaposed portions, the lowermost portion being a group 25 of articles26 to be dispensed and the other portion being residuum 33. Residuum 33needs to be independently supported while the lowermost group 25 isdispensed from dispenser 20.

Referring now to FIG. 5, crank 42 has been displaced an exaggeratedamount downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 4. Also for clarity,spring 45 has been omitted from FIG. 5 due to the exaggerateddisplacement of crank 42. This action has caused collar 60 to be rotatedcounter clockwise by pin 44 acting on end 68a of slot 68 in collar 60.This in turn, has caused strut 64 to be pivoted about shaft 43 which hasmoved support block 63 downwardly from its up position carrying on itthe lowermost group of articles 26 to be dispensed. Thus, the lowermostgroup of articles 26 is lowered from residuum 33 whereby the lowermostgroup 25 is unnested from the residuum 33. As will readily be perceivedby those skilled in the dispensing art, such vertical displacement ofgroup 25 from residuum 33 is necessary to cause unnesting, lateraldisplacement being precluded by the interlocking configuration ofarticles 26; i.e., their compound curved surfaces.

As support block 63 is lowered, FIG. 7, it passes through shaped notch82, FIG. 6, in inclined panel 76. The edges of the lowermost articles 26of the group 25 of articles 26 being dispensed are intercepted by theareas of inclined panel 76 contiguous to the outline 83 of notch 82.This causes the group 25 of articles 26 to be unnested and disengagedfrom support block 63. Then, because of the inclined disposition ofpanel 76, the group of articles 26 slides down the inclined panel 76under the influence of gravity. At that point in time, as indicated bythe phantom group 25a of articles 26 in FIG. 7, the articles 26comprising group 25a are still nested with respect to each other.

When group 25a of nested articles 26 reach the lowermost end of inclinedpanel 76, the group is forced to abruptly change its direction of travelin order to proceed down the second inclined panel 77. The abrupt changein direction is induced by the group striking side member as its dropsfrom inclined panel 76 onto inclined panel 77. Generally, upon emergingfrom the lowermost end of discharge chute 24 onto suitable receivingmeans, not shown in the figures, the articles 26 of group 25a areunnested. It is believed that the angularly oriented members ofdischarge chute 24 cause the articles to become unnested as theynegotiate the descending, sharp corner in chute 24. Thus, a dispensedgroup of articles will be scattered onto a plate or the like wherebythey will have the appearance of a hand-dispensed handful of articlessuch as chip-type snack foods.

After a group of articles 26 have been dispensed by moving crank 42downwardly, the dispensing cycle is completed by moving crank 42upwardly to its rest position. After support block 63 has reached its upposition, clamping means 36 are caused to release resiuum 33 whereuponresiduum 33 falls onto support block 63 thereby assuming the identity ofstack 27 for the next dispensing cycle.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the function of the full-length slot 30in magazine 22 is to initially permit a stack of articles 26 to beplaced directly onto support block 63 or to permit placing additionalarticles 26 on the top of a stack of articles magazine 22 regardless ofwhere the top of the stack is along the height of the magazine. The fulllength slot enables initial loading and replenishing of stack 27 withoutdropping the stack or individual articles. That is, articles orpluralities of articles can be placed into dispenser 20 as opposed tobeing dropped thereinto; placing as opposed to dropping being thepreferred mode of handling frangible articles.

Although not indicated in the figures, means for covering slot 30 inmagazine 22 and the top end 32 of magazine 22 may be provided to enclosemagazine 22 to improve the sanitary aspects of dispenser 20. Such slotand top covering means would of course have to be removable ordisplacable as by hinging in order to provide the necessary access toload or replenish the stack of articles.

An alternate dispensing mechanism 23a is depicted in FIG. 8 whereindesignated members/features thereof which are identical to correspondingmembers/features of the preferred embodiment dispensing mechanism 23 areidentically designated, and modified members have an a added to theirdesignators. Dispensing mechanism 23a lowers stack 27 of articles 26 apredetermined height during each dispensing cycle before the clampingmechanism engages residuum 33. The predetermined height is the height ofa group of articles to be dispensed. Thus, dispensing mechanism 23aincrementally lowers stack 27 on support block 63 as opposed to thestack being incrementally lowered by dropping the residuum onto supportblock 63 as in the preferred embodiment dispenser 20 hereinbeforedescribed.

Alternate dispensing mechanism 23a, FIG. 8, is different from dispensingmechanism 23 hereinbefore described inasmuch as: a dispensing cycle iscaused by moving crank 42 to rotate shaft 43a clockwise through onerevolution; the camming portions 57a of clamp cams 52a are configured toreciprocate the inwardly biased lower ends 54 of arms 50 as cammingportions 57a move along a circular path as shaft 43a rotates; strut 64ais independently pivoted on shaft and is in- 9 dependently biasedupwardly by spring 65a; a support operating cam 91 is provided toreciprocate support block 63 in timed relation with the reciprocation ofthe lower ends 54 of arms 50 as shaft 43a rotates; and anti-CCW rotationmeans lIIOTis pro vided to preclude rotating shaft 43a counterclockwise.

The camming portion 57a of a clamp cam 52a is shown in sectional view,FIG. 9, to have a dwell portion 95 intermediate a beveled clamp openingportion 93 and a beveled clamp disengaging portion 94. The clamp cams52a are secured to shaft 43a so that clockwise rotation of shaft 43acauses the lower ends 54 of clamp arms 50 to reciprocate outwardly andinwardly about their secured upper ends 53. This camming'actionalternately disengages and engages respectively opposed surfaces 58from/with the edges of articles 26 disposed therebetween. The length Lof dwell portion 95 enables shaft 43a to be rotated through apredetermined angle alpha while clamping pads 51 are disengaged from theedges of articles 26 disposed therebetween for a purpose to behereinafter delineated.

Strut 64a, FIG. 8, having ends 101 and 102 is pivotally mounted withrespect-to the structure of the dispenser by having end 101 rigidlysecured to shaft 90 which is rotatably secured to structure of thedispenser, such structure not being shown in FIG. 8 in order to clearlyshow the operating members of alternate dispensing mechanism 23a.Alternatively, strut 64a could have'end 101 rotatablymounted on shaft90, or strut 64a could have end 101 simply hinged to dispenserstructure. End 102 of strut 64a is configured to have support block 63'rigidly secured thereto. Strut 64a is configured and disposed forsupport block 63 to be ret ciprocated along a circularly extending arebetween an up position anda down position through an intermediateposition and through shaped notch 82, FIG. 6, in inclined panel76, FIG.7. I I

. When support block 63 is at its up position, it is juxtaposed thedownwardly facing surface of the lowermost article 26ha ving its edgesdisposed in engaging relation relative to pads 51 whereby stack 27 canbe wholly supported by either pads 51 or'support block 63 for a purposeto be hereinafter delineated.

The distance between the up position and the intermediate position ofthe support block is the height of a group of articles'to be dispensed.Thus, when'the support block is lowered to the intermediate positionwhile pads 51 are disengaged from stack 27, stack 27 is lowered theheight of a group 'of articles to be dispensed. Then, engaging pads 51with the edges of articles in stack 27 causes theresiduum 33 of thestack to be independently supported whilesupport block 63 is lowered tobe down position to dispense the lowermost group of articles from thelowermost end of stack 27.

Support operating 'cam 91 in combination with amming portions 570 ofclamp operating cams 52a 27 is incrementally lowered without beingdropped as successive groups of articles are dispensed from the lowerend of stack 27.

Support operating cam 91, FIG. 10, has constant radius sectors R,, R andR which determine the up, intermediate, and down positions,respectively, of support block 63 as hereinbefore delineated. Theconstant-radius R sector functions, as shaft 43a rotates clockwise, tokeep support block 63 at its up position while the clamp openingportions 93, FIG. 9, of clamp cams 52a are engaged with arms 50 wherebypads 51 are disengaged from articles 26 disposed therebetween. Furtherclockwise rotation of shaft 43a through angle alpha causes the rise ofcam 91, acting on strut 64a, to lower support block 63 from its upposition to its intermediate position while pads 51 are maintained openby dwell portions 95 of clamp operating cams 52a, FIG. 9. Theconstant-radius R sector of support operating cam 91, FIG. 10, functionsto maintain support block 63 at its intermediate position while theclamp closing portions 94 of clamp operating cams 52a, FIG. 9, disengagearms 50 upon further clockwise rotation of shaft 43a. Still furtherclockwise rotation of shaft 43a causes the rise (increasing radius) ofsector G-H of cam 91, FIG. 10, acting on strut 64a, to move supportblock 63 downwardly from its intermediate position to its down positionand then the fall (decreasing radius) of sector J-K of cam.9l causessupport block 63 to move upwardly to its up position while clampoperating cams 52a remain disengaged from clamping arms 50. Referringnow to FIG. 10, sectors B-C, D-E, F-G, H-J, and K-A of support operatingcam 91 are constant-radius sectors which reduce the criticality ofproducing clamping cams 52a and support operating cam 91, and ofindexing them on shaft 43a.'

Means for providing group height adjustment in alternate dispensingmechanism 23a are not shown in the figures because it is believed thatthe design of suitable means therefore is within the skill range ofpersons having ordinary skill in'the camming art. For instance,referring to FIG. 10, cam 91 could be adapted to have interchangablerim-sectors extending from a point within sector B-C, to a point withinsector I-I-J that would comprise rise sectors 0-D and G-I-I andconstantradius sector R Such rim-sectors could each have a discrete R,radius. Thus, changing rim-sectors would permit adjusting theintermediateposition of support block 63 which would, indirectly,control the average number of articles 26 in dispensed groups.

The anti-reverse rotation means 00 potato in FIG. 10 is a ratchet andpawl mechanism. However, it is not intended tolimit the instantinvention to the use of a ratchet and pawl anti-reverse rotation meansper se.

A dispenser incorporatingthe alternate dispensing mechanism 23a, FIG. 8,is operated by moving crank 42 clockwise through one revolution for eachgroup of articles to be dispensed. Except-for the alternate dispensingmechanism 23a lowering stack 27 incrementally on support block 63, asopposed to incrementally dropping the stack in dispensing mechanism 23,FIGS. 3-5, articles 26 are handled identically by dispensersincorporating such different dispensing mechanisms.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that variouschanges and modifications can be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention and it is intended to cover in the appendedclaims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope ofthis invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for dispensing substantially uniform groups ofsubstantially identical nestable articles from the lower end of asubstantially vertical stack of nested said articles, said stackconsisting of a lowermost group and a residuum, said apparatuscomprising:

a frame structure;

a generally vertically extending magazine secured to said structure forgravity feeding said stack downwardly therethrough, said magazineincluding means for replenishing said stack by adding articles to thetop of said stack;

residuum clamping means operable between an engaging position and anon-engaging position for supporting said residuum in said magazinewhile at said engaging position, and for not restricting verticalmovement of said stack within said magazine when at said non-engagingposition;

a movable support member configured to nestingly engage the lower end ofsaid stack when juxtaposed subjacent thereto;

operating means for moving said support member between an up positionimmediately subjacent the lower end of said magazine and a downposition, said up position of said support member being so disposedrelative to said clamping means at said engaging position when saidstack rests on said support member at said up position and said clampingmeans is at said engaging position, the lower end of said residuum isengaged by said clamping means and said lowermost group is intermediatesaid residuum and said support member;

means interconnecting said clamping means and said operating means forprogressively lowering said stack, and means for operating said clampingmeans in timed relation with moving said support member downwardly sothat while moving said support member towards said down position saidlowermost group is lowered on said support member while said residuum issupported by said clamping means whereby said lowermost group isunnested from said residuum, said means interconnecting said clampingmeans and said operating means including means for maintaining saidclamping means at said engaging position whenever said support member isdisplaced from said up position and for operating said clamping means tosaid nonengaging position when said support member is at said upposition whereby said residuum assumes the identity of said stack bybeing dropped the height of said group onto said support member aftersaid support member has returned to said up position after saidlowermost group has been lowered therefrom on said support member anddislodged therefrom;

means for dislodging said lowermost group from said support member whilethus unnested from said residuum, said means for dislodging saidlowermost group of articles from said support member comprises a firstinclined panel having a shaped notch therein through which said supportmember passes while moving from said up position to said down 6 portmember are intercepted by areas of the inclined panel contiguous to theshaped notch whereupon the articles are unnested from the support memberand slide down the first inclined panel; and,

means for scatter dispensing a group of articles onto suitable receivingmeans, said means for scatter dispensing comprising a discharge chutecomprising an upper chute section and a lower chute section, said upperchute section comprising said first inclined panel having side membersextending upwardly from the longitudinal edges thereof, said secondchute section comprising a second inclined panel having its upper enddisposed subjacent the lower end of said first inclined panel and havingside members extending upwardly from its longitudinal edges, said chutesections being angularly positioned relative to each other forming asharp, descending corner at their juncture which must be negotiated bygroups of articles being dispensed whereby the nested articles in suchgroups are induced to become unnested.

2. An apparatus for successively dispensing substantially uniformportions of nestable articles from the lowermost end of a substantiallyvertically extending stack of like, nested articles, said apparatuscomprising lateral stack support means, a pivotally mounted strut, asupport block secured to the distal end of said strut, said supportblock being movable between an up position and a down position bypivotally moving said strut, said support block being shaped to supportsaid stack of nested articles when at said up position and to lower aportion of said articles as said strut is pivotally moved towards itsdown position, clamping means for providing temporary vertical supportfor the portion of the stack of nested articles disposed above thelowermost portion of said stack of articles whenever said support blockis displaced from its up position, a discharge chute having an inclinedmember having a shaped notch therein through which said support blockpasses as said support block moves between said up and said downpositions, and operating means adapted to cycle said support block fromits up position to its down position and return it to its up positionwhereby a portion of nested articles is lowered on said support blockfrom the lowermost end of said stack of articles, are subsequentlydisengaged from said support block as said support block movesdownwardly through said shaped notch, and finally slide down saidinclined member.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said discharge chute comprises twoinclined chute sections angularly disposed relative to each otherforming a sharp, downwardly canted corner at the juncture therebetween,said corner acting to unnest said articles comprising said group ofarticles sliding down said discharge chute whereby said articles arescatter dispensed from the lower end of said discharge chute ontosuitable receiving means held therebelow.

4. An apparatus for dispensing substantially uniform groups ofsubstantially identical nestable articles from the lower end of asubstantially vertical stack of nested said articles, said stackconsisting of a lowermost group and a residuum, said apparatuscomprising:

a frame structure;

a generally vertically extending magazine secured to said structure forgravity feeding said stack downwardly therethrough, said magazineincluding means for replenishing said stack by adding articles to thetop of said stack;

residuum clamping means operable between an en gaging position and anon-engaging position for supporting said residuum in said magazinewhile at said engaging position, and for not restricting verticalmovement of said stack within said magazine when at said non-engagingposition;

a movable support member configured to nestingly engage the lower end ofsaid stack when juxtaposed subjacent thereto;

operating means for moving said support member between an up positionimmediately subjacent the lower end of said magazine and a downposition;

means interconnecting said clamping means and said operating means forprogressively lowering said stack, and means for operating said clampingmeans in timed relation with moving said support member downwardly sothat while moving said support member towards said down position saidlowermost group is lowered on said support member while said residuum issupported by said clamping means whereby said lowermost group isunnested from said residuum; and

means. for dislodging said lowermost group from said support memberwhile thus unnested from said residuum, said means comprising a firstinclined panel having a shaped notch therein through which said supportmember passes while moving from said up position to said down position,said shaped notch being smaller than the plan view of said articlesbeing dispensed whereby the edges of the articles being lowered on thesupport member are intercepted by areas of the inclined panel continuousto the shaped notch whereupon the articles are unnested from the supportmember and slide down the first inclined panel.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said up position of said supportmember is so disposed relative to said clamping means at saidengagingposition thatwhen said stack rests on said supportmember at saidupposition and said clamping means is at said engaging position, thelowerend of said residuum is engaged by said clamping means and saidlowermost group is intermediate said residuum and said support member,said means interconnecting said clamping means and said operating meansincludes means for maintaining said clamping means at said engagingposition whenever said support member is displaced from said up positionand for operating said clamping means to said non-engaging position whensaid support member is at said up position whereby said residuum assumesthe identity of said stack by being dropped the height of said grouponto said support member after said support member has returned to saidup position after said lowermost group has been lowered therefrom onsaid support member and dislodged therefrom.

6. The dispensing apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means forscatter dispensing a group of articles onto suitable receiving means,said means for scatter dispensing comprising a discharge chutecomprising an upper chute section and a lower chute section, said upperchute section comprising said first inclined panel having side membersextending upwardly from the longitudinal edges thereof, said secondchute section comprising a second inclined panel having its upper enddisposed subjacent the lower end of said first inclined panel and havingside members extending upwardly from its longitudinal edges, said chutesections being angularly positioned relative to each other forming asharp, descending corner at their juncture which must be negotiated bygroups of article being dispensed whereby nested articles are induced tobecome unnested.

7. An apparatus for dispensing substantially uniform groups ofsubstantially identical, nestable, frangible, saddle-shape articles fromthe lowermost end of a substantially vertical stack of nested saidarticles, said stack consisting of a lowermost group and a residuum,said apparatus comprising:

a frame structure;

a generally vertically extending magazine secured to said structure forgravity feeding said stack downwardly therethrough, said magazineincluding means for replenishing said stack by placing without dropping,additional said articles on the top of said stack;

residuum clamping means operable between an engaging position and anon-engaging position for supporting said residuum in said magazinewhile at .said engaging position, and for not restricting verticalmovement of said stack within said magazine when at said non-engagingposition;

a movable support member configured to nestingly engage the lower end ofsaid stack when juxtaposed subjacent thereto;

operating means for moving said support member between an up positionimmediately subjacent the lower end of said magazine and a down positionthrough an intermediate position, the distance between said up positionand said intermediate position determining the height of said group;

means interconnecting said clamping means and said operating means forprogressively lowering said stack, and means for operating said clampingmeans in timed relation with, moving said support member, said meansinterconnecting said clamping means and said operatingmeans includingmeans for maintaining said clamping means at said nonengaging positionwhile said support member is moved from said up position to saidintermediate position to lower said stack, and means for positioning andmaintaining said clamping means at said engaging position to hold saidresiduum while said support member is moved from said intermediateposition to said down position and then moved upwardly to said upposition whereby said stack is progressively lowered an incrementaldistance equal to the height of said group without dropping said stack,and said clamping means supports said residuum while said group islowered therefrom on said support member and disengaged therefrom; and,

means for dislodging said lowermost group from said support member whilethus disengaged from said residuum.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein;

said means for replenishing said stack includes an open top end and afull length slot whereby a quantity of articles can be telescopeddownwardly into the magazine through said open top end while beingsupported on suitable ancillary means therefore extending through saidslot; and

said means for disloding said lowermost group of articles from saidsupport member comprises a first inclined panel having a shaped notchtherein through said said support member passes while moving from saidup position to said down position, said shaped notch being smaller thanthe plan view of said articles being dispensed whereby the edges of thearticles being lowered on the support member are intercepted by areas ofthe inclined panel contiguous to the lineament of the shaped notchwhereupon the articles are unnested from the support member and slidedown the first inclined panel to a delivery point. 9. The apparatus ofclaim 8 further comprising means for scatter dispensing a group ofarticles onto suitable receiving means, said means for scatterdispensing comprising a discharge chute comprising an upper chutesection and a lower chute section, said upper chute section comprisingsaid first inclined panel thereof, said second chute section comprisinga second inclined panel having its upper end disposed subjacent thelower end of said first inclined panel and having side members extendingupwardly from its longitudinal edges, said chute sections beingangularly positioned relative to each other forming a sharp, descendingcorner at their juncture which must be negotiated by groups of articlesbeing dispensed whereby nested articles are induced to become unnestedwhereby the articles of a dispensed group arescattered onto suitablereceiving means upon merging from the lower end of said second chutesection.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION p e t 7, 3 DatedJuly 24, 1973 Inventor(s) Alfred W ZOPPF & (har'lpq R Hnnfl It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. 1, line 37, change "potatoe" to potato line 52, change "q tly togently Col. 2, line 32, change "is" to in Col. 5, line 67, change second"at" to as Col. 10, line 50, change "potato" to illustrated Col. 11,line 29, after "position", insert that Col. 14, line 5, change "article"to articles Col. 15, line 4, delete first "said".

Signed and sealed this 8th day of January 197M.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. RENE D. TEGTMEYER Attesting Officer 7 ActingCommissioner .of Patents USCOMM-DC 60376-1 69 9! U.S. GOVERNMENTPRINTING OFFICE: 1969 0-366-334

1. An apparatus for dispensing substantially uniform groups ofsubstantially identical nestable articles from the lower end of asubstantially vertical stack of nested said articles, said stackconsisting of a lowermost group and a residuum, said apparatuscomprising: a frame structure; a generally vertically extending magazinesecured to said structure for gravity feeding said stack downwardlytherethrough, said magazine including means for replenishing said stackby adding articles to the top of said stack; residuum clamping meansoperable between an engaging position and a non-engaging position forsupporting said residuum in said magazine while at said engagingposition, and for not restricting vertical movement of said stack withinsaid magazine when at said non-engaging position; a movable supportmember configured to nestingly engage the lower end of said stack whenjuxtaposed subjacent thereto; operating means for moving said supportmember between an up position immediately subjacent the lower end ofsaid magazine and a down position, said up position of said supportmember being so disposed relative to said clamping means at saidengaging position when said stack rests on said support member at saidup position and said clamping means is at said engaging position, thelower end of said residuum is engaged by said clamping means and saidlowermost group is intermediate said residuum and said support member;means interconnecting said clamping means and said operating means forprogressively lowering said stack, and means for operating said clampingmeans in timed relation with moving said support member downwardly sothat while moving said support member towards said down position saidlowermost group is lowered on said support member while said residuum issupported by said clamping means whereby said lowermost group isunnested from said residuum, said means interconnecting said clampingmeans and said operating means including means for maintaining saidclamping means at said engaging position whenever said support member isdisplaced from said up position and for operating said clamping means tosaid non-engaging position when said support member is at said upposition whereby said residuum assumes the identity of said stack bybeing dropped the height of said group onto said support member aftersaid support member has returned to said up position after saidlowermost group has been lowered therefrom on said support member anddislodged therefrom; means for dislodging said lowermost group from saidsupport member while thus unnested from said residuum, said means fordislodging said lowermost group of articles from said support membercomprises a first inclined panel having a shaped notch therein throughwhich said support member passes while moving from said up position tosaid down position, said shaped notch being smaller than the plan viewof said articles being dispensed whereby the edges of the articles beinglowered on the support member are intercepted by areas of the inclinedpanel contiguous to the shaped notch whereupon the articles are unnestedfrom the support member and slide down the first inclined panel; and,means for scatter dispensing a group of articles onto suitable receivingmeans, said means for scatter dispensing comprising a discharge chutecomprising an upper chute section and a lower chute section, said upperchute section comprising said first inclined panel having side membersextending upwardly from the longitudinal edges thereof, said secondchute section comprising a second iNclined panel having its upper enddisposed subjacent the lower end of said first inclined panel and havingside members extending upwardly from its longitudinal edges, said chutesections being angularly positioned relative to each other forming asharp, descending corner at their juncture which must be negotiated bygroups of articles being dispensed whereby the nested articles in suchgroups are induced to become unnested.
 2. An apparatus for successivelydispensing substantially uniform portions of nestable articles from thelowermost end of a substantially vertically extending stack of like,nested articles, said apparatus comprising lateral stack support means,a pivotally mounted strut, a support block secured to the distal end ofsaid strut, said support block being movable between an up position anda down position by pivotally moving said strut, said support block beingshaped to support said stack of nested articles when at said up positionand to lower a portion of said articles as said strut is pivotally movedtowards its down position, clamping means for providing temporaryvertical support for the portion of the stack of nested articlesdisposed above the lowermost portion of said stack of articles wheneversaid support block is displaced from its up position, a discharge chutehaving an inclined member having a shaped notch therein through whichsaid support block passes as said support block moves between said upand said down positions, and operating means adapted to cycle saidsupport block from its up position to its down position and return it toits up position whereby a portion of nested articles is lowered on saidsupport block from the lowermost end of said stack of articles, aresubsequently disengaged from said support block as said support blockmoves downwardly through said shaped notch, and finally slide down saidinclined member.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said dischargechute comprises two inclined chute sections angularly disposed relativeto each other forming a sharp, downwardly canted corner at the juncturetherebetween, said corner acting to unnest said articles comprising saidgroup of articles sliding down said discharge chute whereby saidarticles are scatter dispensed from the lower end of said dischargechute onto suitable receiving means held therebelow.
 4. An apparatus fordispensing substantially uniform groups of substantially identicalnestable articles from the lower end of a substantially vertical stackof nested said articles, said stack consisting of a lowermost group anda residuum, said apparatus comprising: a frame structure; a generallyvertically extending magazine secured to said structure for gravityfeeding said stack downwardly therethrough, said magazine includingmeans for replenishing said stack by adding articles to the top of saidstack; residuum clamping means operable between an engaging position anda non-engaging position for supporting said residuum in said magazinewhile at said engaging position, and for not restricting verticalmovement of said stack within said magazine when at said non-engagingposition; a movable support member configured to nestingly engage thelower end of said stack when juxtaposed subjacent thereto; operatingmeans for moving said support member between an up position immediatelysubjacent the lower end of said magazine and a down position; meansinterconnecting said clamping means and said operating means forprogressively lowering said stack, and means for operating said clampingmeans in timed relation with moving said support member downwardly sothat while moving said support member towards said down position saidlowermost group is lowered on said support member while said residuum issupported by said clamping means whereby said lowermost group isunnested from said residuum; and means for dislodging said lowermostgroup from said support member while thus unnested from said residuum,said means comprising a first inclined panel having a shaped notchtherein through which said support member passes while moving from saidup position to said down position, said shaped notch being smaller thanthe plan view of said articles being dispensed whereby the edges of thearticles being lowered on the support member are intercepted by areas ofthe inclined panel continuous to the shaped notch whereupon the articlesare unnested from the support member and slide down the first inclinedpanel.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said up position of saidsupport member is so disposed relative to said clamping means at saidengaging position that when said stack rests on said support member atsaid up position and said clamping means is at said engaging position,the lower end of said residuum is engaged by said clamping means andsaid lowermost group is intermediate said residuum and said supportmember, said means interconnecting said clamping means and saidoperating means includes means for maintaining said clamping means atsaid engaging position whenever said support member is displaced fromsaid up position and for operating said clamping means to saidnon-engaging position when said support member is at said up positionwhereby said residuum assumes the identity of said stack by beingdropped the height of said group onto said support member after saidsupport member has returned to said up position after said lowermostgroup has been lowered therefrom on said support member and dislodgedtherefrom.
 6. The dispensing apparatus of claim 4 further comprisingmeans for scatter dispensing a group of articles onto suitable receivingmeans, said means for scatter dispensing comprising a discharge chutecomprising an upper chute section and a lower chute section, said upperchute section comprising said first inclined panel having side membersextending upwardly from the longitudinal edges thereof, said secondchute section comprising a second inclined panel having its upper enddisposed subjacent the lower end of said first inclined panel and havingside members extending upwardly from its longitudinal edges, said chutesections being angularly positioned relative to each other forming asharp, descending corner at their juncture which must be negotiated bygroups of article being dispensed whereby nested articles are induced tobecome unnested.
 7. An apparatus for dispensing substantially uniformgroups of substantially identical, nestable, frangible, saddle-shapearticles from the lowermost end of a substantially vertical stack ofnested said articles, said stack consisting of a lowermost group and aresiduum, said apparatus comprising: a frame structure; a generallyvertically extending magazine secured to said structure for gravityfeeding said stack downwardly therethrough, said magazine includingmeans for replenishing said stack by placing without dropping,additional said articles on the top of said stack; residuum clampingmeans operable between an engaging position and a non-engaging positionfor supporting said residuum in said magazine while at said engagingposition, and for not restricting vertical movement of said stack withinsaid magazine when at said non-engaging position; a movable supportmember configured to nestingly engage the lower end of said stack whenjuxtaposed subjacent thereto; operating means for moving said supportmember between an up position immediately subjacent the lower end ofsaid magazine and a down position through an intermediate position, thedistance between said up position and said intermediate positiondetermining the height of said group; means interconnecting saidclamping means and said operating means for progressively lowering saidstack, and means for operating said clamping means in timed relationwith moving said support member, said means interconnecting saidclamping means and said operating means including means for maintainingsaid clamping means at said non-engaging position while said supportmembEr is moved from said up position to said intermediate position tolower said stack, and means for positioning and maintaining saidclamping means at said engaging position to hold said residuum whilesaid support member is moved from said intermediate position to saiddown position and then moved upwardly to said up position whereby saidstack is progressively lowered an incremental distance equal to theheight of said group without dropping said stack, and said clampingmeans supports said residuum while said group is lowered therefrom onsaid support member and disengaged therefrom; and, means for dislodgingsaid lowermost group from said support member while thus disengaged fromsaid residuum.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein; said means forreplenishing said stack includes an open top end and a full length slotwhereby a quantity of articles can be telescoped downwardly into themagazine through said open top end while being supported on suitableancillary means therefore extending through said slot; and said meansfor disloding said lowermost group of articles from said support membercomprises a first inclined panel having a shaped notch therein throughsaid said support member passes while moving from said up position tosaid down position, said shaped notch being smaller than the plan viewof said articles being dispensed whereby the edges of the articles beinglowered on the support member are intercepted by areas of the inclinedpanel contiguous to the lineament of the shaped notch whereupon thearticles are unnested from the support member and slide down the firstinclined panel to a delivery point.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 furthercomprising means for scatter dispensing a group of articles ontosuitable receiving means, said means for scatter dispensing comprising adischarge chute comprising an upper chute section and a lower chutesection, said upper chute section comprising said first inclined panelthereof, said second chute section comprising a second inclined panelhaving its upper end disposed subjacent the lower end of said firstinclined panel and having side members extending upwardly from itslongitudinal edges, said chute sections being angularly positionedrelative to each other forming a sharp, descending corner at theirjuncture which must be negotiated by groups of articles being dispensedwhereby nested articles are induced to become unnested whereby thearticles of a dispensed group are scattered onto suitable receivingmeans upon merging from the lower end of said second chute section.